Rescue group shut down, dogs removed from home after WREG report

DESOTO COUNTY, Miss. -- A new day brought a happy ending for nearly two dozen dogs from a Mississippi rescue group found living in filth at a DeSoto County home.

After WREG's story aired Wednesday, North Mississippi Great Dane Rescue was shut down and every dog was removed from the house.

Another rescue group stepped up to take the pups in.

The images of 18 dogs living in a trash-filled home, surrounded by their own urine and feces, sparked outrage on social media.

DeSoto County Animal Control admitted it had been investigating the property for the past month after receiving complaints, but the dogs weren’t removed until Wednesday, one day after WREG reported the issues.

"They should be stepping up immediately," said animal advocate Laura Jean-Drewery. "It’s not the rescue community that is failing the animals, it is law enforcement that is failing the rescue community."

Sources close to the rescue group tell WREG the home belongs to the rescue group’s founder and president, whom we’re not naming because she hasn’t been charged with a crime.

"We like to give owners the ability to correct the situation and work with the owners to clean it up, and that’s where we were," said DeSoto County Animal Services Director Monica Mock. "But the situation deteriorated and we had to step back in."

AT 4:30: The day after my report, 10 dogs were removed from a filthy MS house tied to an animal rescue group. Now they're getting new homes. pic.twitter.com/q5grDtGjM9